UN rights commission calls for action against religious defamation

[JURIST] The UN Commission on Human Rights [official website] has called on the international community to take action against the defamation of religions, especially the ethnic and religious profiling of Muslim minorities after the September 11th attacks. In a resolution [Commission press release] adopted Tuesday by a 31-16 vote, with five abstentions, the Commission expressed deep concern that Islam was frequently and wrongly associated with human rights violations and terrorism and asked the Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance [official website] to present a report on the situation of Muslims and Arab peoples in various parts of the world and the discrimination faced by them. The resolution also calls on the international community to initiate a dialogue to promote a culture of tolerance and peace based on respect for human rights and religious diversity. The UN News Service has more.

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